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Go to school, get good grades, get a stable job in a big company.
That's what everyone tell us to do. Our friends, our family, our teachers, our mentors... It's the sensible thing to do - the safe thing to do.
But what if we want to do something else? What if we want to travel the world? Or start a business or a charity?
From a young age, we're told to forget those dreams - that those dreams are a waste of time and that we won't be able to achieve those dreams.
So we forget those dreams. We put them in a little box, never to be opened again. As we grow older, we sometimes remember our dreams. But by the time we're adults, we have responsibilities that we can't just forget.
To take care of our parents, to take care of our kids, to send our siblings to school. That's the Filipino way.
There's no room for dreams and aspirations when we have other people to take care of.
I've had several, but the ones I want to share with you are these:
I run a couple of businesses, one of which is focused on teaching Filipinos about freelancing and working from home in order to improve their lives. I also provide freelance consulting to businesses about online marketing. I did this all on my own, with my own money and initiative.
I haven't fully achieved my dreams, but I'm getting closer and closer to doing so.
I didn't just decide one day to achieve my dreams. I didn't wake up and all of a sudden know how to reach my goals. It took years.
Years of learning, years of experience, years of hardship.
I started buying and selling thing since I was 10 years old. From drawings, to POGs, to trading cards, school snacks, to friendship bracelets, school projects, jewelry, cellphones, and all the way to work lunches.
Even though I worked in a corporate BPO, I never forgot my dreams. Instead of putting them in a box and trying to forget them, I worked on them little by little.
While providing for my family, I was also learning new skills - freelancing and online business. Still, it took years for me to get where I am today. But what's important is that I never gave up.
I continued to work full-time while freelancing at the same time. Until I had enough freelance income and savings (P250,000) to finally quit working full-time and focus on freelancing.
Even while I was freelancing, I continued to learn more and more. In fact, I was studying even harder when I became a freelancer. I was already what many would consider 'successful', but I knew I could become better. So that's what I did.
I studied, worked harder, learned, gained experience, and of course, earned a lot of money.
I remember at one point losing P200,000 to a failed business idea. But instead of quitting, I learned what I did wrong and was determined to try business again in the future. I was learning little by little, one step at a time, one mistake at a time.
Most people are impatient. They expect people to give them money, to make a lot of money without investing in themselves. When things don't go their way, they give up instead of learning.
But what separates the success from failure isn't actually failing - it's giving up. Successful people persevere, learn, work harder. Thomas Edison attempted and failed at inventing the light bulb over 10,000 times before he succeeded. But instead of giving up after 9,999 times, he continued to try. Because he know he was one step closer to success every time he tried and learned.
“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
― Thomas A. Edison
I don't know what your situation is or where you are with your life. But I can tell you with certainty that you can achieve your dreams if work at it hard enough - with enough determination and perseverance.
You may have to do what I did, learn and practice during the weekends or after the work shift. You may have to fail 10,000 times before succeeding. But in the end, it's worth it.
The moment our dreams die, we die too.
